The ten pence (10p) () coin was a subdivision of the

Irish pound The pound ( Irish: ) was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or £Ir for distinction.) The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin circulation unti ...

. It was used in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

from 1969 to 2002, with its last minting issue in 2000. It replaced the florin coin, of which it shared its design. Two different designs of the coin exist, both featuring a salmon on the reverse. The second was introduced in 1993 and is smaller, due to the reduction of the coin's value by inflation. It was introduced two years prior to

Decimal Day Decimal Day () in the United Kingdom and in Republic of Ireland, Ireland was Monday 15 February 1971, the day on which each country decimalised its respective £sd currency of pound sterling, pounds, Shilling (British coin), shillings, and pe ...

, 15 February 1971, due to its value at a tenth of a pound being the same as the previous florin. It retained the exact design and dimensions (except denomination) of the florin coin, introduced to the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

in 1928. Some florin coins remained in circulation until 1994, when it was decided to reduce the size of the ten pence coin. The original ten pence weighed and had a diameter of . Its size became a problem after inflation reduced the coin's value, and it was last minted in 1986. In 1993 a replacement was struck at diameter and . This new coin featured a salmon, but moved the location of the denomination as a result of reversing the picture of the

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

. The composition of the ten pence was 75%

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and 25%

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

. The coin was worth of an Irish pound. All of the original ten pence coins were withdrawn on 1 June 1994. The smaller version was withdrawn when the

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

currency was introduced in 2002.

References

External links

Irish coinage website - catalogue - decimal ten pence
* ttp://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1993/en/si/0269.html Coinage (Dimension of Ten Pence Coin) Regulations, 1993 {{Irish currency and coinage ten pence (decimal coin) Ten-cent coins